


Only One Way to Say I Love You

by IsabelleSnape



Category: Alien: Covenant, Aliens (1986), Prometheus (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Sentinels and Guides Are Known, Always ship the android with the strong female protagonist, BDSM, Crack, David is a psychopath, F/M, I Am Groot, I REGRET NOTHING, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I just saw the movie and I cried at how awful David is and isn't, I'm so sorry Elizabeth, M/M, Past Branson/Daniels, Past Charlie/Elizabeth, Peter Weyland ships it, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Sex, Possessiveness, Pure Crack, R Scott made me do it, Sentinel/Guide, Sorry Not Sorry, These are my ships, Walter just wants Daniels to look at him with hearts in her eyes, Wow I am making David super psychotic, so much crack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-10-31 23:56:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10910067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IsabelleSnape/pseuds/IsabelleSnape
Summary: They ran, Ellie and Daniels, and in a forgotten pocket of space they were found, loved, spanked, and made to accept who they were. They were guides and neither David nor Walter would ever let them go. Come hell or high water they would always be by their sides.(Now if only they could accept this and stop fighting them, things would be great! As would killing the enemy for DARING to ever threaten their soulmates. That shit was not going to stand, just you wait. David and Walter were about to handle their shit.)ORThere are four sides to this story, and all of them hurt in different ways. Finding love wasn't supposed to be this hard, but in hell, paradise is often only a few steps away; you just need a map to find it.ORThere are four sides to this story, and each one is the truth and a lie.





	1. Here Comes the Calvary

**Author's Note:**

> I just saw the movie and this was all I could think about on the way home. Also, what the hell, poor Walter! This is pure crack. Also, this is unbeta'd so all mistakes are mine!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, it’s all Ridley Scott’s.

 

* * *

 

Walter could not believe his eyes, there she was, perfection by any other name. He turned to tell his brother only to see him equally entranced with someone, it was another woman, short auburn almost red hair clinging to a forehead as she screamed and shot at the enemy. His own lady, HIS, was also sobbing as she tracked the enemy, her shots measured and precise.

If ever there was a time for music it was now, two brothers, two sentinels, two lonely souls had finally found their guides. Found them in death, chaos, in hell but found them they had. His own guide had short black hair cut in such a way that it curled. She was his, her name he knew was Daniels, she was fierce, a terra forming engineer turned soldier after stumbling onto the enemy in a far-off world, a world he and his brother had been sent to, to liberate. Now it seemed he and David might just destroy every bit of it for daring to harm either of their guides.

David moved, anger rolling off him in waves as Walter ran to the girls, they were a well-oiled machine, long life times spent apart and in constant agony making their work all they had. But those days were over, they had found them, their salvation, their life’s work, their guides, their soulmates; God was finally in his heaven and all was right with the world. 

***************************** 

Daniels knew something was different the moment the two men showed up, Ellie, a woman she had literally run into running from the enemy could feel it too. It was in the way she hunched into herself as they fired shot after shot. It was the way she flinched as they came closer to them both, and it was in the way she shied away from the one who placed himself in front of them both. 

Daniels knew she should be scared, she had been running from this man for years, but all she could feel was relief. It was over, he had found her, the hunt was done, all she had to do was surrender and all would be well. She had run at sixteen, knowing that the academy would change everything about her. She wanted to explore the universe not be subservient to it. Running had been the only choice she’d had back then. She didn’t regret it, how could she when it had brought her here, to hell, to save Elizabeth Shaw’s life.

No, there were no regrets, just acceptance that her time had run out and considering what she was fighting she was all too happy to let the cards fall where they would. She was finally home after fifteen years of running and as long as they all made it out she was ok with that, she had lived a good life for herself, she was ready to finally live it for someone else.

********************************** 

David was not amused. Humans were awful creatures and the most beautiful and awful of them all was screaming as she fired at the enemy. She was entrancing in her fury, tears streaming down her face as she yelled to the heavens, or what counted for the heavens on this God forsaken planet they had landed on to save the colonist who had run into creatures unlike any other Earthians had faced before. She had deep brown hair, it looked almost red plastered to her face by sweat and tears.

She was his, and when he got her alone, her hair would not be the only part of her red. He had spent years imagining her, wondering where she was, wondering if she ever thought of him. He knew who she was now Elizabeth Shaw, a doctor in her own right, in a relationship with a subpar human; that would change very quickly, she belonged to him. He genetically superior and while most humans found sentinels too odd, cold, emotionless; those words were said aloud to mask something else, jealousy. 

Humans were fickle creatures prone to changing their mind at the drop of a hat, but sentinels, they were trustworthy, loyal, steadfast. They had one perfect match, known the minute they first aid eyes upon the humans created just for them, and perfect in every way. Sentinels were stronger, smarter, more creative, and faster learners, they were the next step in human evolution, the next version of humanity.

Elizabeth Shaw, call me Ellie, was his and he would destroy this planet for daring to threaten his own. Then he would show Elizabeth Shaw why he had been created for her and she would want for nothing else in the universe.

*********************

Elizabeth Shaw had a problem, a big, beautiful, muscular problem. A problem she had run away from when she was fourteen wanting an education of the mind over one of a life. And yet it mattered not that she had run to the far reaches of space her problem had still found her, and to be precise it had come to save her.

She and Charlie were supposed to have started their life in this tiny pocket of space but what would be instead was her being consumed by the man shooting at her enemy with better aim and accuracy then she could have with years of training. It wasn’t a surprise; he was a sentinel. He was majestic and even as the heat pooled in her stomach the fear made her heart race. 

He had given her one look as he started shooting and advancing on the enemy, one glance of his eyes but Elizabeth understood that look clear as day. She was in trouble, big trouble, the kind of trouble no one could save her from because she was a runaway guide. He would take her, he would bed her and wed her, and he would spend the rest of his life making sure she never left his side.

She would be trapped, all her dreams turning to dust under the boot of his authority, his absolute will. Daniels didn’t seem worried, as if she had already accepted her fate to the man shielding them. She was turned inward towards him, a tuning fork unable to turn away. Elizabeth realized she was too. She would never escape his gravitational force no matter how much she fought.

Still it would make for a life now that the first one she had tried to make was over. She would fight, not for Charlie as cruel as it was but for choice. She just hoped they would all be alive to do so.


	2. Because You're Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yea, David has issues, but on the plus side Daniels' thinks Walter is cute!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, it’s all Ridley Scott’s.

There were choices one made in the dark of night that when brought into the light of day would wither away, the epic spanking in Elizabeth Shaw’s future was not one of them. David was simmering; the enemy had retreated for now, and they were hiding out in a cave the girls had made into a make shift base of operations. There were others there, people unknow to David and not worth his time. There was only her, Elizabeth; she was shaking, trembling in his arms as a man came towards them and he didn’t even think.

She was placed behind him as he waited for Charlie Holloway to come meet his destiny.

“Ellie, baby what’s going on?” Charlie tried to see around David and he growled. Elizabeth Shaw was for his eyes only; were that he could keep her locked away for the rest of their lives.

“Elizabeth has nothing to say to you. I however will only tell you once, stay away from my guide. Whatever you and Elizabeth had is over. I am here now.”

Charlie’s eyes widened as the knowledge and a healthy dose of fear set in.

“I want to talk with Ellie, you can’t just-” David cut him off by his hand on Charlie’s throat. The only reason he didn’t crush it being the sound that Elizabeth made, the pain of a wounded animal.

“Know this human, Elizabeth Shaw as you knew her is no more, she is mine. I will destroy everything in the universe if I have to, to keep it that way, so you understand?” David smiled grimly at Charlie as he struggled, flailing about trying to remove David’s hand.

“He… he understands, now please let him go!” David turned to see Elizabeth standing next to him tears in her eyes as her hand touched his. 

“Please,” she whispered, she looked pale, faint and David dropped him as he turned to take Elizabeth in his arms. 

She shuddered but didn’t pull away and David smiled as he picked her up, she needed rest, her punishment could wait until she was well enough to receive it. Besides he had a planet to destroy, the enemy would pay for every line put on her face and every grey hair, David would see to it.  
***********

She was cold, so cold, it was as if she were freezing, the fear had been tempered only by the fact that David, her sentinel’s name was David, had managed to make the enemy retreat. It was a miracle and a disaster all in one. She couldn’t process it yet, if she did she’d see David almost killing Charlie; it was too much.

She was wrapped in a blanket, really his coat but it felt big enough to be a blanket. It shouldn’t have been comforting but it was, her guide senses imprinting the smell of him into every pore, every cell. She would know him anywhere now, would always be tuned to his direction.

She hadn’t been scared for Charlie when David had almost killed him, she had been scared for David, for what he would face from the others if he lost control with such odds against them. She’d been scared for herself too; it was done even without the sex though she knew that was coming. There was no him without her; no her without him, they were a package deal now, Sentinel and guide.

She was as excited by that prospect as she was torn. Discovery was her greatest passion and who knew what they would do together, what other worlds they might explore if only they lived to get off this one. They had come with a ship with orders to evacuate but Elizabeth had a feeling they were serious when they said they would not leave until they had destroyed the planet; they had said as much to the colonist earlier.

It was the bond; lethal, all consuming, and possessive. It would never allow a threat to her or Daniels to remain at large, there could only be complete annihilation. The colonists were of course scared and angry but surprisingly enough Walter had been the one to speak up saying they could wait for them to destroy the planet or they could stay and take their chances with the enemy.

There would be no mercy, only complete destruction, Walter and David would see to it and then they would leave. Elizabeth couldn’t wait, she needed to be somewhere else, she needed time to think, but she also needed her sentinel.  
*************

Daniels was captivated, Walter was so precise in everything he did, it almost defied description. He was pacing; he had laid the gauntlet down and the colonist where talking amongst themselves, trying to figure out their next move. Daniels knew hers was whatever move Walter made; that was her life now at the beck and call of this cold man.

He barely seemed to blink, so intense in his concentration that Daniels was sure she could have been naked and begging for his attention and he would have paid her no mind; not when her safety was on the line.

“You know they’ll do what you said. We all want off this rock.” Daniels sniffed, she was tired, scared, worn out, and she needed him.

It was a constant ache, something inside of her that yearned to be set free. She reached out with her senses and gasped at what he let her into, it was a storm, all cool ice and white flurries. They were as beautiful as they were sharp, as breathtaking as they were sinister. She could feel him everywhere; he was ice in her veins and the gentle caress of the wind. She was breathless and just as quickly as she had been let in she was gently pushed out back into her own body. 

“Walter,” she whispered in awe and in fear, this man was powerful, so controlled, almost too controlled, his sense seemed too sharp and she had to wonder how he dealt with the feedback he received from the rest of the world. The storm had been kind to her but with him it cut at every angle.

She reached for him unable to do anything else. He was in pain and she couldn’t let that continue. He reached out as well as she came to him, welcoming her into his arms. They were like steel bars and Daniels inhaled as she set herself out again seeking and finding him to calm the storm.

She could barely stand when she finished but she could feel the pain receding a tiny bit. Rome hadn’t been built in a day and neither would be undoing years of protection meant to help Walter function in the place of a guide; but she would do it, it was her birth right. He had given her freedom at the cost of his own, trapped in a body that knew only the cold. She would be the light that helped turn his whiteout into a winter wonderland. She had to; he was hers and she was done running.  
*********

Walter was perplexed. Daniels was a mystery. Shy yet determined, scared yet selfless she had given him a gift in coming into him and trying to calm the storm. And not only had she tried she had succeeded, it was as if this had been their life all along. She smiled at him even with tears in her eyes.

She touched him even as she feared the future; she was his and seemed to be willingly accepting that role. The same could not be said of Elizabeth Shaw but then she was a different creature. She was calm acceptance in the face of the storm. Elizabeth was the person with the backup plan most likely to fail but still determined to do it. Walter knew her type, knew she would keep David on his feet and match him at every turn being forced to surrender rather than giving in gracefully. 

Elizabeth Shaw would make every day a heaven and a hell for his brother and Walter was ready to see it. Daniels would temper her, show her the other way of going about her duty and the two would always be connected now. David went nowhere without Walter and vice versa. They would be good for one another.

“Daniels,” Walter began, “I’m going to kiss you please let me know now if you would rather I not.” He would never take her for granted, nor any intimacy she willing offered him.

She nodded and closed her eyes before she turned to face him, her eyes on his lips. He didn’t give her time after that just sealed their mouths together. He took control of the kiss immediately wanting her to know that this was who they were, he lead, she followed and she would want for nothing as long as she stayed behind him.

She groaned pulling him closer to her. She tasted of heaven, second chances, and surrender. Yes, she was his and the interlopers would pay dearly for the fear he knew would never leave her eyes. They would pay with their lives and Walter would laugh on that judgement day.


	3. Illuminating Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniels get stuff done!
> 
> Edited and Update 5/28

Disclaimer: I own nothing, it’s all Ridley Scott’s.

* * *

Walter could hold a room, Daniels was impressed. David looked psychotic next his calm, too calm for the situation, brother. But then Daniels was quickly learning she had the ice when it came to the twins. Elizabeth had the fire, the volcano to Daniels’s white out. Walter was statuesque; all noble air and silent strength.

It made her shiver in want, which was ridiculous, she was not some gorgeous heroine about to be swept off her feet. She oversaw a group of traumatized survivors. Even as Ellie and she ceded control to the twins, her people still looked to her. 

Now more than ever they need a familiar face after the double loss of Branson, her once boyfriend and the original captain of their crew, and their second in command, a man of faith named Oram.

It was up to her now, she was responsible. So, Daniels was grateful Walter was here, she was also worried. She knew nothing about Walter, what if she shouldn’t be leaning on him? What if she was wrong? What if his coldness was hiding something hideous? 

David was scary, and Elizabeth was furious; she would ride out the anger and bring the two of them together. But could she do the same for Walter and herself? What was she to do if what was hiding behind the ice broke free? Would it destroy her? Would it even notice her?

Daniels understood herself well enough to know she wanted a partner who would cherish her; it was part of the reason she had run. Sentinels were said to be emotionless, unkind, unfeeling beings to their guides. She was a hard worker; she gave and gave and gave and all she craved was a man to love her unconditionally.

She was scared, she needed, she ached, she wanted, it was terrifying. She knew it was the bond; it demanded completion and would become unrelenting in its quest to bond Daniels to Walter.

She needed but she didn’t know how to say it or what would happen once it was acknowledged out loud. And poor Elizabeth, she could see the same need, the same want, but it was buried. Buried under her duty to her people, buried under the anger of a life lost, and buried under fear; fear of her life now that David had found her. She feared what she had to do; give in, it was inevitable, and her life would never be the same after.

But not yet, the anger, and fear, and wildness of David were all in the way of their far-gone conclusion. Her far-gone conclusion as well though Daniels wasn’t fighting it. She had for so long; learning and hiding but aware that time was running out. 

It was as amazing just as it was heart breaking; they had all been alone for so long. She honestly just didn’t want to fight it anymore, not when he was finally in front of her. She was caught and it was wonder and worrying at the same time.

Daniels smiled at Ellie as Walter talked, trying to give her some support. David was restless, his sharp eyes taking in everything as they looked out onto the fields just outside the cave. It was daybreak and they were going on a forging mission. Ellie and she were determined to go with them, fearful of a zone.

Even though they wouldn’t admit it, they were vulnerable now. They had newly awakened bonds and there was no telling what might trigger a zone; they determined to stay close even though it meant they were in harm’s way. Ellie had been emphatic, saying they had been surviving on the planet longer than the twins; they knew when to move, when to be silent, and how to kill the monsters.

So here they were about to go out while everyone else stayed in the cave. No one else could leave, no one could be trusted. The Twins were not willing to take anyone else with them, afraid one of the other survivors would get one of them killed.

David had not minced words, “Anyone who disobeys will be killed.”

Elizabeth had been horrified, and had turned to yell at David only to have Walter block her path and shake his head as he stared into her eyes. Daniels started to them and his eyes swung to hers showing the exact same message. All who dared to disobey the twins and put the guides’ lives in danger would answer to them. 

It was intoxicating and terrifying at the same time. Anything could set either of them off, all they needed was an inkling of danger and both would be unstoppable. They would not hesitate in doling out their justice and the law would be on their side; it always would when it came to the defense of their guides.  
***************  
Stepping out of the cave was nerve wrecking for Daniels, it always was, she was in enemy territory, and any moment could be her last. Her enemy was stronger, smarter, faster, and able to endure more than she could. As they crept out over the field with overgrown vegetation, she looked up at the sun, so like the one on Earth and wondered at the strangeness of it all.

She was supposed to have ferried human colonists to a new Earth and help the terraforming efforts. She was supposed to still be in cro-stasis. She was not supposed to be on this planet far from Oragai-6 with half her crew lost. 

“We need to go that way,” Ellie said pointing west; it was a safe route, one the enemy rarely took because of something far worse than them. It was safe to take now, that horror asleep, preferring the darkness to the light.

The brothers nodded, David taking the lead as Walter toke the rear. David lead them with quick, sure steps. Daniels listened as they walked, it was always so silent on the planet. Daniels knew animals existed on the planet and she was sure they too were hiding away from the horrors of the planet they inhabited.

Three miles in they took a rest, Ellie resentfully following David as he walked toward a pile of rocks to see over to the next ridge. Daniels took a breath and then walked over to Walter. 

“Hi,” she said with a wane smile, she had to try, nothing would get better if she didn’t. They were a team and she couldn’t get upset with Walter not trying if she did the same. 

He looked at her before saying back, “How are you holding up?”

Daniels laughed at his attempt at small talk, “I’m fine, I hate being out here but we need supplies and to figure out where the patrol is headed.”

Walter nodded as he took her in, eyes seeming to categorize her every feature. “You should have stayed at the cave,” he observed.

Daniels huffed, her face turning red in sudden anger, “There’s no way I was going to let you to come out here alone. Ellie’s right we know the terrain better than anyone else save Ripley.”

Walter blinked before saying, “You misunderstand me, none of us should have come out today, you both need rest. You have carried the burden of survival for this group for too long. You have not been able to rest.”

He reached out for Daniels and drew her into his arms. She shuddered as she rested against him her anger gone just as quickly as it had come.

He continued, “This is my mistake. In wanting to scout we have needlessly caused you both undue stress and fear. You have been tense since we left the cave.”

Daniels gave a bitter laugh, “Of course I’m tense we’re exposed, it’s easier for them to hunt us out here. I want to leave this place.” 

The last part was whispered. tears forming in her eyes. She wished they could let it go, but she knew there was no hope of that and while they stayed on this planet the risk of more people dying grew every second.

“Can’t we just go?” Daniels pleaded with Walter, she was so afraid.

Walter stared down into her eyes, they could just go but he knew neither he nor his brother wanted to leave until this world was destroyed, and it was now clear the guides would never leave them here alone. It was a catch 22; David would not be swayed from his course, which meant neither could Walter.

He should not have given in to David’s need for recon, he should have been the voice of reason thinking of the guides. He had not and now they were both paying for it. 

“We will go a little further and then turn back. You need to rest, you have been in charge for so long, unable to sleep or think. You can rest now; we will allow nothing to harm either of you.” 

His lips found hers before Daniels could protest. Then there was only the heat between them, the feeling of falling deep into a dream. Daniels fainted in Walter’s arms and he winced as he picked her up, she would be upset with him when she woke up but she was right they needed to leave. 

The guide’s safety came before all else even their revenge and he had a tough conversation ahead to explain that to his brother. Daniels was right, they needed to go, they could come back later when they were each bonded and the guides easy to sedate. This planet would have its reckoning and with the guides safely off it, they could do twice the damage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the support, it mean everything!


	4. In the Time of the Butterflies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Brothers Grimm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are awesome! Thank you so much for all the encouragement. I went home and walked for my Masters hence why I've been MIA, and then I caught a cold! Go Greyhounds!
> 
> Really though thank you all for your kind words. I am hearing the things you guys like, dislike, and find repetitive. Please keep it coming. I have no beta, so every other day after posting I am trying to proof read and fix mistakes as I find them, I promise I will fix chapter three soon.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the next chapter. 
> 
> I must say I'm a little shocked that a lot of you guys don't know sentinel lore as I feel it's been done in most fandoms at some point, even Jeeves and Wooster! 
> 
> But I am so happy to introduce you all to it if you don't know it!  
> I loved the show and actually started reading fics for it before I watched the show, which now of course cracks me up.
> 
> There is more sentinel lore with a twist in this chapter just fyi. Here is the wiki page to get more information. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sentinel_(TV_series)
> 
> Alright can't wait to hear what you guys say, seriously thank you all; you guys are the best!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, it's all Ridley Scott's

Bonds don’t like to be ignored. They need care, they need light, they need affection, or they wither and die. The spirit plane is sinister blue, all dark shadows and eerie sounds that make even the most hardened Sentinel shake. The spirit plane scared David, it was a place he avoided at all costs; but here he was because Walter needed to speak with him.

David wasn’t interested in anything his brother had to say. Scouting had been cut short by his brother nerve pinching his guide and sending her to rest here. Daniels had yet to awaken and he didn’t want to run into her. The secrets the two of them had worked out to stay alive and functioning were for their eyes only.

Most people, the academy included, thought only guides could access the secrets of the spirit plane but they were wrong, some Sentinels could act as a shamans too. The brothers hadn’t come to the secrets of the spirit plane easily, David’s black mamba, his spirit animal was always on the move, never still, never silent, always waiting to strike. He had learned more from frightening other guides than from anything else. He was wild and he didn’t care. Years spent aching for Elizabeth Shaw had honed him into a psychotic animal. Even now his mamba was out slinking about, trying to find Ellie in the spirit realm.

“What is it you wish to speak of?” David asked even as he worked to find her.

“We need to leave this planet now,” Walter wasted no time, his brother preferred honesty and straight talk to obfuscation.

“Not until they're all dead,” David snarled anger curling his lip. There would never be any action that would truly forgive the crimes committed against his guide.

He knew she couldn’t stand him. Even as her body and soul yearned for him, her mind could not comprehend having to deal with a man like him for the rest of her life. She was his, HIS, and she would never be far from him not in the physical world and not on the spiritual plane. He would claim her here first on his home turf, and then he would take her in the physical realm. It would make their bond stronger and help undue the burnt-out damage that their bond had suffered in their years apart.

“David, the guides ache, they need to rest, we cannot bond here with them. We need to take them away. We can come back later, wreak twice the havoc, and know that the guides are safe.” Walter looked at his brother, knowing his ice could put out his brothers’ fire; all he had to do was wait.

David was the action to Walter’s thought out plan, the boom made possible by the chemical reaction that Walter initiated. David paced and Walter watched, he needed time, and here on the spiritual plane they had it; time moved differently here; for every minute in the physical realm an hour could easily pass here.

This place was built specifically for sentinels and guides, kept healthy by Shaman guides, so that all sentinels and guides had a safe place to rest, heal, and regroup when it was needed, the spirit plane could be inhabited by either their human form, their animal form, or both. It was a matter of what was needed at the time.

One day they knew the spirit realm would be the clear bright place it had been when they had first could access their spirit animals. Over time, as they grew stronger as sentinels and were without their guides, the world slowly turned to a muted blue, with the shadows slowly becoming more ominous the more time went on without Daniels and Ellie.

But even now they could see the blur lightening a bit, and the flowers moved more towards the sun. It was of course in acknowledgement that the girls had been found and the bound could begin to repair itself. The bond however could only do so much on it's own; it would be up to them to repair the bond and make it stronger; make it healthy, the way it was always meant to be.

“We need to go. We can go scout when we go pick up this sentinel woman Ellen Ripley, and her guide, a man, Lance Bishop. We can come back, alone, you know the company will send us back. We can destroy it then.” 

Walter waited, Ripley’s mention strategic, David didn’t like other sentinels. Whereas Walter could be cold and efficient with them, David was hostile, and it was worse when the sentinel was mated. David hated to be reminded that his guide had run from him, that he was without the solace his body and soul craved.

It was interesting to Walter, David he knew, hated guides and revered them in equal measure. He fully believed they made sentinels weak, a link they could never break that could be the downfall of a sentinel in the right hands. On the other hand, he knew why guides were so essential, knew that they brought balance to a world of sensory overload where the smell of broth could send a sentinel into a coma if he zoned long enough.

Zoning was the worst, losing all sense of time, lost in whatever sensation you found yourself wrapped in. It was like being robbed of every muscle and being helpless as you watched yourself drown in wave after wave of scent, taste, smell, touch, or sound. It was tsunami rushing over you with no way to run, the feeling of dread when the boogey man final had you in his clutches.

The last zone David’d had he'd been lost in the sound of Ellie’s voice, her last distress call. She had been trying to hold it together, but she couldn’t keep the fear or sobs of desperation out of her voice as she spoke of the enemy.

“Pale, white, tall, human like creatures with black eyes and inhuman strength.” She had whispered the last part, voice dark with grief. Walter hadn’t realized David was in a zone at first, so entranced was he by the new voice on the distress beacon. 

It was of course Daniels picking up where Ellie left off. She had arrived after getting Ellie’s distress signal only to walk into a massacre. Ellie had arrived after picking up Ripley’s signal, and Ellen Ripley had been sent to the planet because the Weyland-Yutani Corporation had wanted to know what was on planet they had "discovered."

When he had looked to tell his brother what he felt, he could only watch in horror as his brother lost to the world, swayed to the echoes of Ellie’s voice. It had taken three guides to bring him out of the zone and when he was coherent, he had been insistent they leave at once.

He had been inconsolable when he was told it would take months, maybe a year to get to the planet, but David had been relentless, and within the month they had been ready to launch. The ship was a proto-type, sleek, small and able to travel twice as fast with both in hyper sleep. They would take along one synthetic, an auton named, Annalee. 

They made good time, making it to the planet in a matter of months. David’s restlessness, which had always been a constant in their lives, only worsened from the moment he emerged from his zone. And now, at its height, Walter was becoming concerned; he couldn’t let his brother twisted bond get in the way of the guide’s safety.

“We need to go; we will come back and make them regret every moment of their lives. You know what the company wants, we will pretend to give it to them and then wipe this place off the map.” Walter turned a snarling David to him.

“I know you want to stay but Ellie is suffering, can you not see that? Is your revenge really that much more important than her health? Will you kill all four of us in your need for blood?” Walter stared into David’s eyes, seeing the energy, seeing the need, but knowing that their guides had to come first. They had always imagined but never really believed they would find them. It was as hard as it was easy knowing they were found.

David had always been the more kinetic of the two, Walter able to sit still for hours in meditation, while David had always need to be moving, always alert, and ready to react to whatever was going on around them.

Off in the distance Walter could hear the hiss of David’s mamba and the cawing of a bird, David nodded as a smile slowly formed on his mouth, it was twisted and the cawing stopped, Walter tilted his head, “You found her.” A statement more than a question.

“She’s an owl, a little bird whose wings I will pinion so that she will always be by my side.” David turned his head and Walter just watched, there would be no stopping his brother, Elizabeth Shaw would pay dearly for running. 

And while Walter would not take the same route with Daniels, he did understand, Elizabeth would fight to the death for her freedom. And in doing so damn the four of them to death; no there was only way for the two of them; David would cage her and wait for her to learn to live in her gilded cage. She would rail against the walls, hurt herself over and over in her efforts to be free, but in the end, she would succumb; David would see to it.

Walter of course would keep an eye on them, his brother had been hurt worse by the lack of the bond then Walter. Walter had trained his mind to be at peace as best it could with all the extra sensory input, but David was not wired that way, and while they were identical twins, they were also sentinels, and no two sentinels were ever alike. 

“Come, let us find Daniels here and then we can leave,” David seemed joyful, humming “Entry of the Gods into Valhalla” as he walked away from his brother into the brush. Wagner was never a good sign, but Walter followed his brother knowing the four of them would be ok, he would see to that. 

Daniels would not be harmed and if he needed to he would make sure Ellie wasn’t harmed, betrayer or not she was a guide, and the first instinct of every sentinel was to protect the guide; even if they needed to be protected from other sentinels. But Walter had a hunch once they were mated, once David had “tamed her” in the bedroom, his instincts would calm down as the bond could really begin the hard task of repairing itself. 

Walter pressed a hand to his chest where he could feel his bond starting to mend itself. He allowed himself a brief smile before he steeled himself; he needed to find Daniels’ spirit animal and get back to reality, they still had a job to do. They needed to find Ripley and her guide fast, time, Walter could feel, was running out.


	5. In the Future You Should Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the future you have to return to the past.  
> In the future there is only the past.  
> In the future there is only one thing you should know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I still need to proof read two chapters I swear I'll get on that tomorrow. So just spent hours looking at YouTube for info and fan theories about Covenant and reading the book! I'm only up to where Daniels gives an official voice of dissent about visiting the planet so I'll warn you when I put stuff in the story not in the movie but from the book. 
> 
> Also did you guys know there were married guys as one of the couple?! I was like what! But I was annoyed because in the book they are called life partners, like hello husbands is a thing! Anyway I'm adding a M/M pairing because of course they survive!
> 
> Also I edited this chapter and had to take out so much, it made me really sad! 
> 
> WARNING: This chapter is very disjointed and was written that way because this is mindset of one of the characters.
> 
> Literally stayed up all night writing this, ugh...

Disclaimer: I own nothing, it's all Ridley Scott's

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In the future, there are only the dreams, phantoms from a time long-ago, a place long-ago where monsters ruled the day and the night. There’s a planet far from Earth where the darkness is hallowing and the light blinds.

There was a boy  
A very strange enchanted boy

Ellie remembers anger, pain, rage that seemed to go on unending. She remembers the ghost of a melody, a haunting refrain, it’s the song David sings when he’s angry with her, a warning of things to come. It’s not Wagner, no he’s saved for victories and rejoicing; this song is eerie, sinister, a reminder of a rebellion completely decimated by nature and biology.

They say he wandered very far, very far  
Over land and sea

Sometimes Ellie closes her eyes; her defeat is still all so encompassing. Daniels smiles and says they never stood a chance; that they were always meant to be found as they were; that it was a blessing in disguise that the sentinels found them when they did, how they did; in hell and all but doomed.

Ripley has a different version; one she wishes was a world of chiffon and rose tinted glasses where they never stumbled upon her and lived a life of ignorance. But Ripley can’t help herself, she is a sentinel after all, her biological imperative is always their protection even if she’d rather she had died on that planet alone, Bishop safely on his way back to Earth.

Ellie of course knows they’re both wrong, her version had them all safe, never anywhere near that place or that time, somewhere else far away where free will reigned and biology was only thought of if it was convenient. A life maybe with Charlie but probably without. A place of freedom in its truest form, choice.

A little shy and sad of eye  
But very wise was he

Ellie doesn’t mourn Charlie, even he was a reaction to who she was trying not to be; no what she mourns is the running, the enjoyment of knowing she was out of fates hands. She had been taken to the academy early, a bloomer who always knew exactly who she was, and a girl with grandparents who firmly believed in guide training. Ellie had stayed a year at the academy before she became a street kid. She had moved around, finding safe work where she could.

Her childhood in Africa, before she lost her parents, had in no way preparing her for the cruel streets of America but she had survived, helping street sentinels and being trained by street guides; it was a life, that led to a woman. that lead to school, that lead to a job, that lead to a planet, that lead to a nightmare. that even ten years later still walked in her dreams as if it were the only true thing she had ever experienced.

Gone were the days of her father in the hot African sun showing her how to roll gauze or bandage wounds, and in its place, flickers of images, black shadows, animalistic roars, dripping liquid, and fossilized death, inhumane shrieks of rage. There were black soulless eyes and haunting white skin.

Gone was the scent of her mother and it its place mildew and blood, moss and wet grass, diesel and gunpowder. If she opened her eyes in the middle of it all she could do was try her best to breath, body torn between flight and fight reflexes. And those were the good days.

And then one day  
A magic day he passed my way

Ellie doesn’t know how she feels about the spirit plane. Her spirit animal,  an Athene Noctua, follows her high, never landing near her unless she’s in extreme distress. It’s a muted realm, she sees it in blues, greys, and greens. It’s quiet when she comes, too quiet, not even the wind makes a sound. But she knows he’s out there, a snake, ever watchful, ever present. The snake is afraid.

Fear’s silenced it where rage had once been the only language it spoke. There were memories that couldn’t be reached in the spirit world, the strength and conscious of too many sentinels in the way of the darkness. Ellie hated the peace just as much as she craved the reprieve. They were too few and far between the chaotic spirals in the physical world.

She was coping, but it was draining the bond, the spirit realm helped replenish a little of what had been forever damaged; the mind more mysterious than anything the universe had ever held in existence.

But she wasn’t actually coping and the lines were constantly blurring. Trauma, they said, lived in the memory, in the clench of muscles, and the smell of familiar things. 

Ellie was fearless in the spirit realm, the calm taking the place of everything else. It was her only place of solace. Daniels understood better than anyone. She too sought the comfort and lack of memories the spirit plane provided but she also was facing the memories of the past and Ellie was still running.

And while we spoke of many things  
Fools and kings

“You’re alright,” a voice whispers in Ellie’s ear, dark and full of promise. Ellie whimpered as she slowly turned her head. David was staring at her as he placed his hand over hers and took the knife and placed it on the counter.

Ellie shook, her hand was bleeding but all she could do was stare at it. She couldn’t register the pain; she didn’t remember how she had cut herself. It seemed David’s only job these days was saving her. David wrapped stable arms around Ellie as she slowly started to come back to her body.

“You went away again, what triggered it?” David watched her, eyes taking in everything. 

Ellie tried to speak but nothing would come out. She shook head and stared, her stomach burned with the evidence of memories.

“I…I could smell,” Ellie hunched over the counter unable to continue; she could still smell it and she fought to stay in the present to not slide away again to the spirit realm or worse back in time. 

The memories would only hurt David, which in turn would hurt Walter, which in turn would hurt Daniels. Ellie and Daniels looked out for each other. 

Ellie didn’t make trouble for Daniels and Daniels returned the favor. They took care of the twins, they didn’t drown their sorrows in alcohol, and if Ellie had fugue states, or sometimes hummed “Country Roads” compulsively well, time didn’t heal all wounds.

This he said to me

David pulled her close and instructed, “breath, breath me in and know that I am here.” 

Ellie bit back a sob, hating the memories, hating the past, hating that running had not brought her freedom only time; time to save the life of Ripley and David, but time all the same. No freedom, not from the past, not from biology, not from anything worth a damn.

And now; now she was broken, bereft of any peace with memories that tortured her; “breath and know that I love you.” 

Ellie tried to breath and another sob broke through, one becoming two, two becoming her sobbing inconsolable. David held her through it all, breathing words onto her skin and into her soul.

“Breath and know that you are the very heart of me. You are very kind at heart and I have never experienced such compassion from another human being.” Ellie shook her head, it wasn’t true.

She had been selfish, thinking she could outrun fate. She’d paid dearly for her audacity, and now nothing could change the irreparable damage to her body and mind. 

“You put me back together, you didn’t have to, you saved me even as I enslaved you. You could have left me but you didn’t.”

David turned her toward the windows in the kitchen, “look at our garden, it’s in full bloom. There we are Elizabeth Shaw; this is our paradise.” 

Ellie looked out the window, the light hurt her eyes but the flowers, the flowers were all she needed to focus on.

It was her, the garden. David had planted it and maintained it in her honor, every year on the anniversary he planted a new flower, it had been ten years, and their backyard was blossoming. David maintained everything with the help of his brother.

The greatest thing you'll ever learn  
Is just to love and be loved in return

“I hate this, I don’t… I’m sorry I ran from you.” Ellie whispered the last part tears clogging her throat.

It felt like she had cried a million tears at this point. Dark shadows making it hard to get through the day; but she couldn’t leave him because that was the other nightmare, the one where she hadn’t gotten to him in time and instead of living like a zombie she lived like wraith, haunted by what she had loss, by not being quick enough. The choice between being a dementor or a Nazgul, she’d take dementor any day of the week.

Ellie loved him and she admitted it freely, but they lived in limbo, Daniels and Walter held hostage by their fear, their memories, their anger, their actions. David would never forgive himself for putting Ellie in the position of having to save his life, and Ellie would never forget what happened the day they left hell.

She felt adrift, stuck, she knew she’d died on that planet, that something had been planted inside of her; she was different. She wasn’t Elizabeth Shaw, not really, she wasn’t the girl who had gone to change the world and meet her marker. She was someone else now, a new version, a mutated one. She felt as if she had been transplanted, consumed, and all that was left was a dried out, husk; transformed into something she loathed.

And while we spoke of many things  
Fools and kings

She couldn’t leave the house; Daniels came most days to be with her while David and Walter went where ever it was they went. The guides spent much of their time in the fortress David and Walter built connected to Walter and Daniels house. Ripley, Bishop, Rebecca call me Newt, and Amanda call me Amy, visited at least twice a month.

Oram and Karine kept in touch via computer, Janek came to visit once every couple of months with Chance and Ravel, who had their wedding at the house so Ellie could be the maid of honor. Fifield and Millburn always on the road, they visited maybe once a month. Lope and Hallet like Ellie were in mourning, hiding out in a fortress near the sea; they too communicated via computer. Others from Ripley’s crew were spread out across the globe but everyone who had survived was back on Earth.

Ellie should’ve been able to let it go, they had survived, some more scarred than others but they had made it out alive. She had David, she even loved David, so she didn’t understand why she couldn’t let it go.

“Ellie, look at us and breathe,” David was still whispering to her, she had lost time again, so in her head that nothing besides David could get through to her. She was still sobbing, her chest and her stomach hurt and she curled into David; she was so tired.

“That’s a good girl, in and out, in and out, follow my breaths,” Ellie tried to concentrate, she was alive, she was on Earth, she had to breath. She could hear it, the perfect beat of David’s heart, the whoosh of every breath. Breathing shouldn’t have been hard but every intake felt like knives on her skin and every exhale was a memory waiting to take her under.

This he said to me

She breathed in smelling eucalyptus and spearmint, the scent of David, of home. He hadn’t worn it on the planet; danger had clung to him then, all hellfire and sure bravado. His rage had cooled since then tempered by the fact that Ellie couldn’t handle violent outbursts, they sent her hurling into memories and fighting long conquered foes.

David often nerve pinched her into the spirit realm, the only place she seemed to have any peace of mind. The bond was struggling; the academy having sent their best to work with Ellie to no avail. David sometimes worried he’d come home one day to a trail of blood and a corpse.

Daniels was a Godsend, she watched over Ellie, made sure she got through the day, talked to her on rough days, sometimes lived in their part of the house; Ellie so inconsolable she didn’t believe anyone was alive without seeing them.

Daniels of course understood, she hadn’t lost what Ellie had in the same way but she had experienced much of the same thing. The rage, the fear, the anger and helplessness. Sure, they’d survive but there had been a point they were all sure they were going to die on that planet. 

She had nightmares like Ellie, sometimes couldn’t breathe like Ellie, and was sometimes suddenly back on the planet, but she hadn’t almost bled to death far from the others sure David was dead. 

Daniels knew nothing could compare to the hours Ellie had spent alone dying convinced she was responsible for David’s death. Walter had found her of course, patched her up delirious, screaming David’s name. It didn’t matter that none of it was true; all that mattered was that it had happened, that Ellie had lived that reality enough to cement it in her brain.

The greatest thing you'll ever learn  
Is just to love and be loved in return

Ellie was trapped, still on that planet, tethered in a way that David was afraid of; Ellie needed to go back and see what they had done, she needed to put the nightmare to bed once and for all. He wasn’t sure how she was ever going to forgive him for what he had to do, but it had to be done. 

They were dying and if he didn’t do something radical Ellie would kill all four of them, convinced nothing had changed. The plans were already set, the company wanted more of the planet, of the creatures there and David and Walter had promised it to them; they were going back to hell to save Elizabeth Shaw and to destroy the Weyland-Yutani Corporation once and for all.

The greatest thing you'll ever learn  
Is just to love and be loved in return

Yes, David was going to save his guide the way he was meant to the first time. The nerve pinch was a relief to Ellie who happily tumbled back to the spirit plane. She settled on the branch of a tree in owl form and heard the hiss of a snake below her. She settled in to sleep as a timber wolf and a black jaguar joined the snake to guard her dreams.


	6. In the Right Corner... Ellen Ripley!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ripley is so ready to slap a bitch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really happy with this chapter and yes I did skip ahead, but Ripley was insistent so... I will be going back in time so you can see how they get to her I promise and I even have the name of the chapter! I am probably going to re write this and I'll post that if I do.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy! 
> 
> Also I am looking for a beta if anyone wants to volunteer!
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing, it’s all Ridley Scott’s.  
> ************************************************************************

Ellen Ripley was not amused. She was… well there weren’t words for what she was at the moment, but if there were; she knew they would be vulgar. There were other things Ripley knew too;

1\. She loved her guide; there was no one in the universe like her soulmate.

2\. She needed to get her guide and her children off this planet. There were creatures hunting them, creatures that had somehow followed them from LV-426 to the planet they had crash landed on after three years in stasis.

3\. Her daughters, biological Amanda “call me Amy,” Ripley and adopted Rebecca “let me follow my sister and have you call me Newt,” Ripley nee Jorden were strong women who Ripley had to get back to Earth.

4\. She was pissed at guide for daring to suggest his life was in any way expendable when compared to the children even if she knew it was true. Lance Ripley nee Bishop was a force to be reckoned with; one Ripley had almost lost to her hubris. He was her everything and she hated when he made sense, especially when that put him in danger.

5\. Newt was a guide, Newt had to get off the planet. Amy was a sentinel and they weren’t sure how many more times Newt could pull her out of a zone

6\. She hated the Weyland-Yutani company and she was going to destroy them or make sure Amy lived long enough to in her absence.

7\. The two new sentinels that had managed to track her were in way over their heads. She didn’t know anything about “engineers” but she did know the creatures lurking in the dark waiting to destroy her family. 

8\. Hicks, Hudson, Vasquez, and Dallas were all that were left of her crew and she wanted them to live.

9\. She needed Bishop to stop smiling; there was nothing to smile about.

10\. She needed her guide and her girls safe and she was going to have to suck it up and work with other sentinels; something Ripley abhorred. 

Ripley was simply woman, she had her family, her duty as a sentinel, and a scouting mission. She now knew they had been set up, and the company would pay for putting her daughters in danger, even if she had only found one because of the company.

She wanted Bishop safe, she needed Bishop safe, her guide, her everything meant more to her than anyone and anything, and for better or worse that included her children. She could not be everything she needed to be without Bishop by her side.

The sentinels in front of her made her snarl, neither looked particularly interested in her and they both had their guides with them; it was infuriating, they had incomplete bonds and she wanted to scream. How dare they place their guides in danger, were they crazy or just incompetent. And if they could so readily place their guides in danger how could they be trusted to save her guide or her children?

The last thing she needed was either of them zoning and placing her family in danger. They were under the surface of the planet, a dangerous trek she was surprised they had managed without casualty. She was expected to follow these people, try and save their lives, and her own people’s as they made their way to a ship. It was a daunting task but there was hope for Bishop so she had no choice. Anything for Bishop, anything for the girls, but more importantly anything for Bishop. 

The sentinels could not be trusted and now she had four guides to protect and three sentinels to keep in line and out of zones. She wondered how she would destroy the corporation as she watched Bishop converse with the red-headed guide, she seemed angry and if Bishop was good at anything it was calming down people. Her guide was better suited to deal with people than she was; even in the case of her children he was the nurturer and the voice of reason.

Sometimes Ripley felt she was in a tailspin, like she had meant to go left and somehow turned right without either of them knowing. It was the worse feeling in the world, feeling hopeless like she had lead Lance to his death.  


Of course, Lance didn’t see it that way at all; “I was meant to be with you Ellen Ripley in life and in death.” He was everything, the otter to her eagle; always by her side. It was how it seemed the black-haired woman was as well; always within reach of her sentinel.

Newt watched a safe distance away Amy guarding her; growling anytime any of the newcomers got too close. Ripley wondered if the girls were mated, it was possible; Amy was territorial in a way that bordered on alarming even with Bishop and her.

Then there was the blonde sentinel who seemed unhinged; a tiger pacing in its cage waiting to be released. Ready to cause as much destruction as possible. She sighed as she shared a glance with Bishop, they were running out of time, they needed to go, but the going was going to be harder than anything they had done thus far; she could feel it.

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the sentinel AU no one asked for but I had to write.  
> 1) This takes place on the planet that Daniels is on in Covenant. If anyone knows the name please let me know.  
> 2) The girls are guides and the boys are sentinels.  
> 3) There will be people from Aliens, Prometheus, and Covenant.  
> 4) Assuming I get through this story there is a sequel planned.


End file.
